A Tale of Broken Souls
by Dragon Pulse
Summary: A collection of short drabbles and ficlets telling a variety of tragedies in the lives of the Z-characters. All different pairings and situations. Warnings will be given when necessary.
1. Funeral

**Funeral.**

His eyes closed and he swallowed hard. His eyes reopened to reveal the sight that wouldn't go away. He kept telling himself that it wasn't real; that if he closed his eyes, it would go away. Unfortunately, it was all too real. His eyes gazed up and down the incense-cedar casket, and he felt it happening again. The tingle in nose. The tears forming in his eyes. He fought as hard as he could to fight them. He couldn't cry. Not with everyone watching. Beside him stood his son. He hadn't bothered to try and hold back the tears. They were intensely cascading down the boy's cheek. It broke his heart, but there was nothing he could do.

The young boy looked up at his father, his expression quizzically asking why his father didn't shed a tear. The man couldn't do it. He had to stay strong. For all the strength he had acquired over the years, for all the fights he had been in, for the way he would be protective of his family. Yet no threat that had come his way was as painful as this was. And it wasn't just the poorly starched suit tugging at him that caused his pain.

He could feel the swelling in his eyes. Puffy from the crying he'd done earlier. But he wasn't going to cry now. He couldn't.

Or so he thought.

The spiky haired man came crashing to his knees, his head knocking against the casket. Loud sobs came from the man, causing everyone in the room to watch him sympathetically. And then he spoke through his sobs, his voice sounding raw and broken.

"I know all I ever did was die on you. Disappear." He paused, looking tearfully at the corpse of his wife. "And I was always sorry. But you weren't supposed to die on me, Chi-Chi."

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. All Dragon Ball Z characters are © Akira Toriyama/Bird Studio, etc._


	2. Destruction

**Destruction.**

The planet had bright, beautiful glow. Under it's many suns, it shone red. It was a ruby amongst tiny diamonds, and it's image was as proud as it's inhabiatants. The small boy watched it from above, grinning proudly at his home. He turned away after a few moments, walking over to the closet in his living quarters. The young prince pulled out clean armor, and a brand new cape. It was red, just like the atmosphere of his planet. He could hear the bone chilling laugh of his master, Freeza. Vegeta cringed. At the young age of five, even he knew that serpent-like alien was a kind of evil he didn't want to know.

Vegeta didn't fully understand why we wasn't home. Freeza told him it would be best to begin working for him. One day, he would return to Vegeta-Sei to take the throne when his father died. He always shrugged it off. He didn't care much for his family, but he wanted nothing more to take control over his empire. Until that time came, he would train whilst doing the work Freeza provided for him. His strength was second to none amongst the Saiya-Jins, and he was completely aware of it, constantly wearing a cocky smirk on his face.

These small thoughts continued to stream through his mind as he changed his clothing, preparing to have a quick visit with his father before taking off to the planet Awagimak to clean it off, to prepare it for sale. These thoughts were interrupted by a rumbling sensation, much like that of an earthquake. But he was above any land while in Freeza's ship, so it couldn't be possible. The rumbling grew stronger, and Freeza's laugh became louder and more elated. Instinctively, Vegeta ran to the window. His eyes widened at the frightening sight before him.

Bursts of light could be seen consuming the planet. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before. It had the appearance of fireworks, only far more destructive. And within only minutes, the ultimate destruction happened. The ship shook harder. flames shot from the planet. Pieces of ruby shaded rock went flying in every direction. The Saiya-Jin Prince squeezed his eyes shut, fearful of the sight.

The shaking eventually stopped. Vegeta opened one eye, peering out the window cautiously. Black. Black was all he could see, but he knew the ship hadn't moved. Vegeta-Sei was gone. He grit his teeth as tears welled up in his eyes. Everything he knew was gone, including his empire.

He knew he could do nothing, so he let himself cry while he was still in solitude.

"You will pay for this." He sneered, noting that Freeza was to blame. When he was stronger, he would fight back. He would have no time to mourn, although he would pay for that gravely in the future.

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. All Dragon Ball Z characters are © Akira Toriyama/Bird Studio, etc._


	3. Bleak Future

**Bleak Future.**

The news reports made everything look bleak. Perhaps it was. Cameras panned up and down the remains of a small island city. Everything had the glow of flames. It was where they had gone fifteen hours prior. But nobody has returned. She couldn't take it anymore; she had to find out what was happening. She placed the peacefully sleeping infant into his car-seat before double checking to make sure the seat was secure in the vehicle. Buckling herself in, she started the engine. Her plane lifted off the grounds of Capsule Corporation, speeding towards this nearby place.

It was far worse than it looked on TV. There was no sign of life at all, but she continued to fly. That's when she saw it. The flaming golden aura of a Super Saiya-Jin. "That has to be Vegeta!" She let out a smile, realizing that everything was okay. That all her friends were going to be all right. She picked a close-by spot to land, capsulizing the plane. She held baby Trunks in her arms as she ran towards the spot she had seen just moments earlier.

The only person that stood was Gohan. Distressed tears streamed down the face of the young Super Saiya-Jin. Bulma realized that this was a bad sign. She observed the debris around her. Yamcha. Tenshinhan. Chaozu. Piccolo. Their bodies were still and battered. Dead. Trunks awoke from his sleep, beginning to go into a fit of hysterical crying. Bulma felt like crying too. She didn't see Vegeta anywhere. Her eyes darted towards Gohan. He said nothing, and simply pointed Bulma in the direction of her... whatever he was.

She smiled hopefully. Gohan hadn't said he was dead, so maybe he was okay. He was always bragging he was the strongest in the universe. He had to be okay. But what she saw when she reached the destination made her nauseous. Before her stood a young boy and a young girl, both with icy blue eyes. They turned, looking at her. Bulma froze.

"Come on, Eighteen. Let's get out of this dump."

The two said nothing more, flying away. And there he was. Vegeta was on the ground amidst a pile of rubble. His entire body looked raw and bloody. His face was swollen and bruised. His left leg had been twisted in such a way that shouldn't be possible. She ran over to him, tears forming in her giant blue eyes. The Saiya-Jin's breathing was extremely labored. A cough let out a ton of blood. And then everything stopped. A final exhale was all she heard. His eyeballs rolled back. She was unable to contain her emotions, tears rolling down her cheeks, and dripping of her chin. They splattered on the remains of his armor. The sound of Trunks crying only made her sob harder. She threw her body against Vegeta's corpse, hugging it as if it would help.

Nothing could help. Not for a long time.

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. All Dragon Ball Z characters are © Akira Toriyama/Bird Studio, etc._


End file.
